Chinese rap singer Wang Hao, better known by his stage name PG One who was forced to apologize for his lyrics by the Chinese govt. file photo

DHARAMSHALA, Jan. 23: China’s top media regulator, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SAPPRFT) has banned Hip-Hop culture and tattoo from television on Friday, saying the elements are counter to Chinese Communist Party’s ideals.

Gao Changli, Director of the administration’s publicity department, outlined that actors, “whose heart and morality are not aligned with the party and whose morality is not noble, who are tasteless, vulgar and obscene, whose ideological level is low and have no class, with stains, scandals and problematic moral integrity,” will be not allowed on Chinese television.

While Hip-Hop and mainstream pop culture has a growing following in China, many artists have faced interference from the Chinese government with regards to their content and appearance.

Prominent rapper GAI from Hunan TV’s Singer, a hit competition show, was removed from the show without any explanation while fellow rapper Wang Hao, known as PG One was forced to apologize earlier this month after his song “Christmas Eve,” was criticized for promoting drug culture and insulting women. Many artists had also had their songs and videos on the internet either blurred out or banned completely in the recent past.

Inside occupied Tibet, crackdown on artists is considered a new normal, and some with fatal consequences. As many as 11 Tibetan singers such as Gepe and Shawo Tashi have been jailed in Tibet since 2012 and regarded as “separatists”. Tibetan singer Trinley Tsekar was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Chinese court.

The new restrictions, particularly in the music and television foray is seen as part of President Xi Jinping’s “New Era” in his new term, magnifying the communist party’s hold on culture and internet, among many other things, in China.